I read that somewhere ...

In terms of presentation, Field-Tested is basic, logical, and possessing a single, simple but indispensable enhancement from the 'bells and whistles' category. After the introduction, the presentation opens to the first of the essays, with close to 50 additional alphabetical-by-contributor choices down the right side of the page. (In accordance with the site's approach, the titles of the 'featured' books aren't even included in the index - merely the contributor's name and the whereabouts of the encounter.) As each installment is read, a checkmark appears in the index beside that entry, so as long as you don't clear your browser's History, you won't have to worry about losing track of which pieces you have and haven't seen.

Content is in the form of articles that run between 100 and 900 words, were born in locations from Walla Walla, Washington to Capetown, South Africa, and highlight the work of writers from Robert B. Parker to Franz Kafka. Some pieces provide fairly detailed reviews, some merely include the book as part of the scenery, but one way or another, all of them have a story to tell. One writer connects with nature while backpacking through Bolivia and reading Jung's "Man and His Symbols" ("Man feels himself isolated in the cosmos, because he is no longer involved in nature, and has lost his emotional 'unconscious identity' with natural phenomena"). Another discovers "Billy Budd" during a summer spent in a nearly deserted college dorm. Still other accounts recall the innocence of "The Babysitter's Club" and a local library, and the much more serious pairing of "The Exorcist" and an impending divorce.

It's certainly an unusual approach to literary review, but judging by the facts that the exercise is into its third incarnation, and that people are willing to pay for the privilege of printing their own copies of complete strangers' memories about books the surfer has probably never read, there certainly appears to be a market for people reading stories about other people reading stories. If the concept of melding review with reminiscence appeals, Field-Tested Books has just what you need. If not, the site could still serve to suggest options for the second half of the summer that don't come from the current bestseller lists.

Field-Tested Books can be found at http://www.coudal.com/ftb/.

(My all-time favorite book? Donald Jack's "Three Cheers For Me," though I have absolutely no recollection of the first time - of many times - that I read it. It must not have been during a summer vacation.)

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